The problem as I see it is defining what is a front end feature and what is an OS feature. As far as the OS goes, I guess it would be necessary to include the libraries etc required for navigation support and all that, but what happens if different front ends use different libraries. Could having unused libraries significantly increase the overall size of the OS and is that of significant concern? Could the end size of the OS be reduced by an installation program that only installed required drivers and libraries or would such an installation program be too difficult to program?

i am debating whether to boldly go with a linux distro
or settle for windows knowing everything will work (at least 1/4 of the time)
if my wm5 device could communicate with linuxICE, that would be a major plus